The Story Continues

29Sep

I’ve tried to block out most of the first two weeks out of the first surgery. Unfortunately sticking my fingers in my ears and yelling “LALALALALALALA” doesn’t work so well when trying to recall what actually happened nearly two years ago.

The HiQ had us driving over every couple days to watch the progress or decline of my breast tissue. First he gave me a cream that was supposed to increase circulation. It was SO strong that I was only supposed to use a certain number of times per day. The one or two times I used it more than the directions said to resulted in monster headaches. The cream didn’t work. If any of my readers know what this stuff is, please leave a comment. I can’t seem to find information on it. [Editor’s Note: It was nitroglycerin cream]

When the cream didn’t work, he tried something experimental. He sewed patches of cadaver skin over the worst areas but I STILL don’t understand how that was supposed to help. I’m guessing that it’s like skin grafting in burn patients Those patches were supposed to act like a bandage to encourage natural tissue healing. I’d like to add that he didn’t even numb the area.

He even told me a few times that this was a very expensive procedure. Because I wasn’t numbed when he sewed the cadaver skin on skin that wasn’t nerve damaged, I screamed. I was promptly told “Don’t scream. You’ll scare the people in the waiting room” FUCK the people in the waiting room!! What the HELL did he expect?? My breasts were rotting off, he wouldn’t explain anything and he was sewing CORPSE SKIN on me. Of COURSE I was going to scream. Sometimes educated people are total idiots.

He gave the skin a few more days and of course that didn’t work either. What was really gross and disgusting…yes aside from corpse skin sewn on me…is that it turned gooey by the time it was removed.

Over this period I asked a few times why this was happening. He said “I don’t know.”. Once he even said he had never seen anything like it in 15 years. My bullshit meter pegged on that one. 15 years and he had never once seen necrosis?? His diplomas said he went to a reputable medical school so I really have to call bullshit.

Here’s a giant clue-by-four to any medical people reading this. When a patient is going through something this difficult it’s NOT okay to say, time after time, “I don’t know”. It IS okay to say, “I don’t know but I’ll find out”.

Thanks to this entry, I feel better about what I’ve been through. I will be posting regularly again. Tomorrow I’ll talk more about the first two weeks after surgery and the Valium comment.